Do Sleepy Surgeons Have a Right To Operate?

Hugh Pickens writes "BusinessWeek reports that a commentary from the New England Journal of Medicine calls on doctors to disclose when they're deprived of sleep and not perform surgery unless a patient gives written consent after being informed of their surgeon's status. 'We think that institutions have a responsibility to minimize the chances that patients are going to be cared for by sleep-deprived clinicians,' writes Dr. Michael Nurok, an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician. Research suggests that sleep deprivation impairs a person's psychomotor skills — those that require coordination and precision — as much as alcohol consumption and increases the risk of complications in patients whose surgeons failed to get much shuteye."

Comments

This is just another waiver

[santax]

Come on, so you get into the ER, need treatment right away, you're gonna tell the only doc available to first get some sleep? Don't think so. The hospital/doc should have made sure that the staff is fit enough to even be on watch. This will just mean: yes sir we are very sorry you lost your kid due to bad handling from are doctor, but look here: that is your signature. So you can kiss that lawsuit goodbye. Hospitals shouldn't have people who are sleepdrunk on the watch. Simple as that.

Trust a doctor

[pehrs]

Asking me to sign a waiver should a surgeon about to cut me open be tired seems only like a CYA policy. I can't make an informed decision, and I am most likely in distress and need of the surgery and saying no would delay it.

I am already putting a huge amount of trust in his abilities, and that includes him being able to decide if he skilled and in shape to do the operation or not. If I can't trust my doctor to make that decision I can't trust him to operate at me anyway. Therefor this seems completely pointless.

I

Re:Well, of course, it should be the other way aro

[Anonymous Coward]

Killed five people while she was at it. Good for her! Now she has a shitty BMW to show for it!

this is just dumb

[Triv]

Your relationship with your doctor is based on trust and consent - you don't ask your taxi driver to submit to a breathalyzer before he drives you home, so why should you ask your doctor how he's sleeping? If you don't trust your doctor to be operating on you in good condition, you need to find yourself a different doctor.

Re:Proper rest

[bill_mcgonigle]

The military has a culture that's designed to take ego out of the decision processes. Perhaps imperfect, but the danger is recognized and dealt with. Now, try working at a hospital...

Actually, it would be interesting to compare military hospitals with civilian and see how they rate on important measures.

Re:Develop a test

[leromarinvit]

Impairment testing is a win for everyone, except for the people that would be responsible for installing them.

Sounds like a good candidate for a law then, doesn't it?